Media Coverage

Local hospital emergency rooms that are turning away people seeking pain medications and narcotics are doing the right thing, according to Robert F. McCormack, MD, professor and chair of emergency medicine.

The National Association of EMS Physicians and the American College of Surgeons have found the benefits of using long backboards to reduce spinal motion in patients transported by ambulance are largely unproven. Brian Clemency, DO, assistant professor of emergency medicine, says "more and more, the literature is showing that backboarding is not a benign process.”  

A study by Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine, suggests that 10 percent of pedestrian emergency room visits are because of distracted walking.

In the wake of China and Belgium introducing lanes for pedestrians using smartphones Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine, reiterates how dangerous texting while walking can be. "While talking on the phone is a distraction, texting is much more dangerous because you can't see the path in front of you," said Jehle.

"Vehicle weight and price have a positive relationship with vehicle safety," says Dietrich Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine. His study used a method different from the government and has determined some of the most popular cars least safe. 

According to a study by Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine, vehicle weight and price have a positive relationship with vehicle safety. “We found that vehicle type, curb weight and price are all significant predictors of personal-injury cost,” he said. 

When an SUV hits a car, the driver in the car is four times more likely to die — even if the car has a better crash-test rating, according to research led by Dietrich Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine.

Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine, conducted research that found a correlation between accidents in which personal injury claims are filed and the size and price of the vehicles involved. 

Of the tens of thousands of pedestrian-related accidents requiring a trip to the emergency room, an estimated 10 percent result from texting while walking, says Dietrich Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine.

More pedestrians than drivers are injured while using cell phones, says Dietrich Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine.

Heavier crash test dummies are being designed to reflect a more realistic American body weight — a need identified in a study by Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine.

Per mile traveled, distracted walking — including texting and walking — is more unsafe than distracted driving, warns Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine. 

Mayor Byron W. Brown says additional appointees to the City of Buffalo’s Emergency Medical Services Board — including Sucharita Paul, MD, clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine — will help keep Rural/Metro ambulance company’s performance in check during a five-year contract between the city and the ambulance service.

Dietrich Jehle, MD, professor and vice chair of emergency medicine, found that obese drivers may be at a strikingly higher risk of dying in car crashes because they often don’t wear seat belts.

According to Dietrich V. Jehle, MD, professor of emergency medicine, video laryngoscopy will be the first line in airway management for emergency departments in 2014. Jehle also says he foresees continued improvements in bedside diagnostic tools, such as pocket-sized ultrasound systems.